Grandstand



March 11, 1952 c, w Tz 2,588,783

GRANDSTAND Filed June 29, 1948 March 11, 1952 c, w z 2,588,783

GRANDSTAND Filed June 29, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Z4 /5 75 o o A 22 a mm o I. i. v I g '7 i r g a o f y 5 I H Q 7/ /5 /9 25 H I I I a /5 H [H 4 I I I 5 6 l 5 5 o 0 Patented Mar. 11, 1952 Charles" H; Wetzel;- Wayne; 13a..- assignora Wayne Iron Works; Wayne. Par, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application-Junezil, 1948,.Seria1No. 35,821 r 1 Claim.

This invention relates to grandstands and' more particularly'to stands of the folding type adapted for use in gymnasiums and the like. The present invention has for its primary object the improvement of stands of thistype in certain details hereinafter more fully set forth.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide means for rendering the stand more foolproof against accident to the occupants.

Another object is to increase the rigidity. and.

at the same time to reduce the weight of certain reinforcing elements of the grandstand structure.

Still another object is to provide an improved form of friction anchor for maintaining'the stand in adjusted position.

The invention will be more readily understood by reference to the attached drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View of the lower portion of a stand made'in accordance with .the invention;

Fig. 2 is a corresponding view showing the stand in the process'of being folded;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view in perspective showing the under part of that portion of the stand shown in Fig. 1;

Figs. 4 and 5 are fragmentary views showinga detail of the construction;

Fig. 6 is a view in perspective of the friction' anchor;

Fig. '7 is an exploded View of the friction anchor shown in Fig. 6, and

Fig. 8 is a viewin perspective of one ofthe alignment frames of the structure illustrating one of the features of the invention.

Fig. 9 is a View taken along line 99 of Fig, 2..

The general structural nature of the grandstand is best illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. The stand, in. effect, is composed of a plurality of units, each comprising a base frame I supported on rollers 2, 2 at front'and rear. The lowermost section A comprises front and rear uprights 3 and a respectively and horizontal members 5 which connect said uprights. Small floor-engaging rollers I! are provided at the lower ends of the uprights 3. .To the forward end of the horizontal members 5 are secured the brackets 6 which support the lowermost seat I of the stand.

A front panel is hinged at 9 to the forward edge of the seat '5, said panel comprising upright members Hi and transverse facing boards 8, 8. Pivotally attached to the uprights i0 and extending rearwardly are a plurality of strut-like members !2, the lower ends of which are provided with rubber pads l3 which normally engage the floor surface and act as brake or anchor elements as hereinafter"more'fullydescribed. Thestructure consisting oftheuprights l 0 and the panels 8 may be"elevate'daboutthe, hinge 9 in the manner illustratedinFigggandwhen so elevated retracts the" members" It" and elevates the lower ends thereof and the pads l3, fromthe-floor, also as shown; in'Fig; 2; thereby rendering the friction pads inoperative:

The sectionB of the: stand which adjoins the lower section A consists of the roller supported base" frame lb; rear uprights 4b, and horizontal membersj5b' extendingforwardly frompanel-- 14b supported, by the rear uprights 4b and carrying at'th'eirforward endsthe brackets'fib which support the seat-element 1b. In normal'assembly the; forward end ofeach of't-he members 5b overlies an" upright 4 of thesection A, and thesaid upright' l? is provided: with a facing board or panel M which; when the seat lb is occupied, will forma support fortheforward endsof'the membersiUoffthestand section B. When the section Bl'lS not" occupied the forward end of the horizontal members v Sbwill be slightly-elevated above thboardlkand the-supporting upright l-of the lowersectionso that that section may be moved rearwardl'y; on--its*wheels--2 to aposition entirely underlyingthehorizontal members 5b-of the adjoining section Bi This-retracted position of the section A is, shown-in-Fig. 2: It will be noted that in order; to movethe lower section A to this position itjwi'll be necessary-toelevate the friction pads l 3 fromengagementwith the floor and that this can be accomplished byturningup the forwairduprights Illand theirfacing boards about the pivote-asshown h M The 'sectionBis' similarly adapted-to be moved backward on it's:rol-lers, under the projecting horizonta'l' members 50 of the next adjoining, section C; so that when completelyfolded the stand structurewilPhave' an; effective thickness from fr'ont-to-rear corresponding to'the front-to-rear dimension of the individual sections A, B, C, etc. When the stand sections are fully folded one under the other as described above, the forward uprights l0, with their facing boards 8, will again be lowered to the position shown in Fig. 1 whereby the friction pad I3 will be brought into engagement with the floor to act as an anchor retaining the sections in the relatively telescoped. positions. It will be noted that each of the horizontal members 5, 5b and 5c constitute supports for footboards, l5, l6 and H respectively, which form footrests cooperating respectively with the seat elements of the adjoining section. Thus the footboard I5 functions in conjunction with the seat lb, and the fcotboard IS with the seat 1c of section 0.

Between the uprights 4 of the lower section A and the correspondingly located horizontal members 5b of the section B, a pair of torsion frames 18 and 19 extend, the lower end of the frame [8 being hinged to the uprights 4 and the upper ends of the frames l9 being hinged to the horizontal members 517. The frames l8 and I9 are pivotally joined together at the upper and lower ends thereof respectively at a point indicated in the drawings by the reference numeral 2|. These frames act in pivoted pairs to form reinforcing struts for the structure. When the parts are folded one under the other these frames will fold around the pivot 2| and will assume a position illustrated in Fig. 2.

It will be noted that similar struts are provided between the uprights of each section and the horizontal members of. the overlying section. Thus the torsion frames connecting the uprights 4b with the horizontal members 50 are identified in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 by the same reference numerals, l8, l9 and 2|, which were used to identify the frames connecting the uprights 4 with the horizontal members 5b.

It will be noted that the forward end of each of the horizontal members 51) of the section B is provided with a rigid pad or spacer element 22 which forms a support for the lower edges of facing boards or panels 23 which are secured to the brackets Eb at the forward ends of the horizontal members 51). When the section B is loaded and the forward end of the horizontal members are thereby depressed so as to bear upon the facing boards H of the uprights 4 of the lower section A, as previously described, the lower edge of the facing board 23, by reason of the presence of the pads 22 upon which they rest, will be spaced well above the upper edge of the underlying facing board l4 and this space will be sufficient to accommodate the fingers with ample clearance. The purpose, of this construction is to avoid the possibility of inadvertent pinching of the fingers of occupants of the stand between the facing boards l4 and 23, in the event that the fingers are inadvertently placed between these facing boards 14 and 23 at the time that the section B is initially loaded.

Referring to Figs. 6 and '7, -it will be noted that the members 12 have at their lower ends a transverse flange or foot 24 to which the rubber pads l3 are attached. The pads l3, as best shown in Fig. '7, are provided with inserted metal clips 25 which, when the pad is applied to the flange 24, are pressed downwardly over the edges of the flange and against the top face thereof to hold the pad in position. The manner in.

which the clips 25 are so folded over the foot 24 is shown in Fig. 6. In order to preclude possible displacement of the pad I3 from the foot 24 the mid-sections of the said members [8.

said foot is provided with a-pair of tapped holes 26, 26 which are adapted to receive screws 21, 21, passing downwardly through plates 28, 28, respectively, said plates in assembly overlying the inturned clips 25 as illustrated in Fig. 6. In this manner the clips 25 are positively held in place to retain the pads l3 in place on the feet 24.

Referring to Fig. 8 it will be noted that each of the torsion frames consists of end members corresponding to the members [8 and so designated in Fig. 8, and a cylindrical cross bar 29 which, in the present instance, is of tubular form as illustrated. The ends of this bar are rigidly connected, by welding in the present instance, to the This simple connecting bar has been found highly effective to prevent relative angular displacement of the members H3, H3 from their normal parallel relation and constitutes a light weight but highly efiective means for preventing such torsional displacement.

It will be understood that the herein described structure is susceptible to modification without departure from the invention as defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

A grandstand including a plurality of sections arranged in stepped relation, said sections being supported on rollers and being movable rearwardly to a position underlying the next higher section, a panel at the forward end of the lowermost section, said panel depending from hinges at its upper edge and being movable upwardly and outwardly about said hinges, a pair of links I pivotally connected together and respectively to the rear of the panel and to a relatively fixed part of the said lowermost section, said links being arranged so that when the panel is dependent from the hinge substantially in vertical position the connected ends of the links extend downwardly into proximity of the fioor surface underlying the grandstand, and when the panel is elevated about the hinges the links are extended and are also elevated from the said floor surface, and an anchor pad at the said connected ends of the links arranged for frictional engagement with the floor surface only when the panel is in the said dependent position.

CHARLES H. WETZEL.

REFERENCES CITED ,The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,474,215 Van Der Hoof et al. Nov. 13, 1923 1,583,529 Coleman May 4, 1926 2,158,939 Hussey May 16, 1939 2,183,056 Albach et al. Dec. 12, 1939 

